The Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has solicited the intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to tackle the growing menace of vandalism and energy theft in the power sector.
Tegbe made the appeal when he led a delegation from the ministry on a courtesy visit to the EFCC’s head office in Abuja.
The minister lamented that vandalism and energy theft were taking a heavy toll on the power sector, resulting in the loss of billions of naira annually.
He said the ministry lacks the statutory powers to prosecute offenders involved in vandalism and energy theft, making the collaboration with EFCC necessary to address the problem.
The chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede, described vandalism and energy theft as revenue fraud and acts of economic sabotage.
Olukoyede also pledged to work with the ministry by instituting fraud risk assessment and control on all their projects.
NTA News
